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Returning rap megastar Eminem has jetted into the UK, and in his first major interview in some time revealed the depths of his drug addiction.

Eminem releases his new album 'Relapse' today, ending a five year silence. For a man never struck for words, five years is frankly too long for Marshall Mathers to go without releasing new material.

The rapper sank into a deep depression after the death of his friend Proof in 2006, becoming addicted to painkillers and losing his will to create. In a new interview with The Guardian Eminem claimed that he used several different types of anti-depressants.

"The problem was, as I'm going to be explaining over and over again for a while, is that I had a pretty bad drug problem. I was messing with Valium, Vicodin, Ambien and anything to sleep. Basically I'd take Vicodin to get me through my day."

The rapper eventually entered rehab, but his attempts to go clean were unsuccessful. "When I went to rehab that time I wasn't ready to go. So when I came out I relapsed pretty much right away, within a week. I was still writing at that time and trying to do my producer thing. I was sitting in rehab reflecting for the first time in a while."

"I felt like I needed to pull back from the spotlight because it was getting out of control. I mean, you could blame my drug problem on genetics, you could blame it on my career and the way it took off, or you could just blame it on me" claimed the hip hop icon.

However Eminem doesn't seem to have lost his sense of humour. Celebrity baiting video 'We Made You' came complete with a much talked about video which lampooned stars such as Amy Winehouse.

The rapper has organised a listening party with a difference to launch his new album. Taking place in Covent Garden today (May 18th), passers by are invited to attend the Relapse Rehab Centre and hear a playback of the album.